Contrast
by a Wiccan
Summary: Yasha, a demon vessle like him, but different at the same time. Marina, her mother, was willing to take in him and his siblings as well into her family. But first, the sand siblings were determinded to protect them at any cost.
1. Chapter 1

Contrast

Gaara and his siblings were being led around the village Chi no Bara they were currently staying at during their mission. The twelve year old was aching to kill every single person in the village but he was forbidden from doing so. They had a mission to do. Their mission, currently, was to stay in the village for a month and help eliminate the rouges that attacked periodically. It was and S-class mission.

One thing that the redhead was secretly grateful for was the villager's ignorance to his being a jinchuriki, enabling him to move without the whispers and fearful glances and insults. Still though, their smiles and happiness was enough to drive him mad. Suddenly he felt a shift in the crowd.

Glares were thrown at a figure left of him. Mutterings and whispers ran through the crowd and he could smell the fear and hate pouring off of them. It was an interesting contrast to their previous mood.

Looking to his left he saw a girl close to his age. She wore a simple red tunic over black leggings and no shoes. Her black hair was long a wild but not messily. In her hands she held a small banquet of white daisies, pale lilacs, and a few other white flowers. In the center was a blood red rose, making a striking contrast against its white companions, its thorns cut into the girl's hand, causing blood to drip from her hand and down her arm to the ground. The contrast of her skin and the blood, intense.

Everything about her was contrasting with the village around her, like a puzzle piece that didn't belong. She stopped walking and looked over her shoulder, as if sensing his gaze. Blood red eyes met his sea foam ones. The colors distinctly contrasting. She smiled at him and then she was gone, hidden by the crowd.

"Terribly sorry about her. That is Yasha. She's a monster, that one is. Her parents struggle with her and her strange behaviors. Tore a man's head off once, saw it myself." Gaara looked at the old man who was leading them through the village. It was he who had spoken, a white haired man who had once been a shinobi.

"Hn." The redhead turned away and they continued walking. Soon they reached the apartment they would be staying in. It was a plain affair but obviously expensively so. As befitting for the children of the Kazekage.

That night Gaara walked out of the apartment and walked round. The moon was a waning crescent in the sky but along with the stars , it provided enough light for him to see. He walked to the edge of the village and through the forest, noting the incline. It wasn't long before he came to a clearing that ended in a steep over hang, looking over the village.

"Somebody beat me to my spot tonight." Gaara whipped around on the defensive, not having heard the person appear. His sand shooting towards them, only for it to be deflected. The girl from earlier stood before him.

She looked at the sand idly. "That wasn't very nice." Her eyes looked back up at him. "I'm Bara Yasha. And you?" He didn't want to reply, so when his words slipped out he was surprised.

"Sabaku no Gaara" She smiled at him and he didn't mind his slip so much anymore. She held out her hand to him.

"You and I should be friends, Sabaku no Gaara." Hesitantly he shook it.

* * *

"So you really don't like yokan?" Gaara shook his head at Yasha's endless stream of questions. For three weeks now they had been meeting during the night at the same spot above the village. The redhead found that he didn't actually mind her company, and looked forward to it. A contrast to his normal behavior. He attributed it to her being a demon vessel like him.

In the time that he and his siblings had been at the village, there had been few attacks, and each one ended in the same result, the rouges being destroyed by his siblings and him. On occasion Yasha would join them. The old shinobi who showed them to their apartment hadn't been joking when he told the redhead about Yasha tearing a man's head off.

Several times while fighting, Gaara had spotted Yasha tear one of the rouges apart bare handed. She took more pleasure in fighting than Gaara himself did, often sporting a delighted grin. Sometimes he could hear her laughing over the screams. Her personality while fighting was a shocking contrast with her personality away from a fight. It frightened him at times.

* * *

It was the day before the sand siblings were scheduled to leave. In the time that they had been there, only light skirmishes had occurred with the rouges, something Temari noted as strange. Yasha agreed with her.

When Gaara and Yasha had started hanging out, the girl would randomly appear at their apartment. At first it scared Gaara's elder siblings, but they grew used to her after a while. Temari was happy for her help in the kitchen and Yasha and Kankuro made a strange truce with each other. Once or twice Yasha's mother, Marina, joined them.

She had once been a beautiful and strong woman. She still was strong, but now her ebony curls fell limply against her back and her honey brown eyes had bags under them, her face tense and creased in worry lines. Thinking back to what the old man said about Yasha's parents having trouble with the girl, he doubted it. Yasha did whatever her mother asked and tried her best to help her mother. Gaara suspected it was the villagers who gave her trouble. Temari and Marina were now talking as they made lunch for everyone.

"It's so strange; I would have thought they would have done more by now." The younger one commented.

Marina nodded her head, "Indeed, I believe you are right. While the four of you are strong, I highly doubt all of them have been destroyed." Temari nodded silently. While the older woman was worn out, she still had a commanding presence that the siblings could not ignore. It was the only thing that kept Gaara and his older siblings in the same room peacefully. Temari had at one point remarked that his personality with Yasha and Marina around greatly contrasted with his normal one.

"it is indeed, a great contrast between the rouges previous behavior and their current one."

"I wonder what will go wrong." Yasha walked in, her dark appearance a contrast with the light colored kitchen. No sooner had she spoken when an explosion rocked the village entrance. The girl gave a mad grin that sent chills up Temari's spine and then she was gone, along with Gaara.

"Temari lets go!" Kankuro shouted as he too ran out the door, his sister followed, leaving Marina in the kitchen alone.

* * *

The rouges had planned an all out attack and they were at least four score in strength. Gaara took great pleasure in being able to finally kill somebody as he crushed dozens. Temari and Kankuro were working in a back to back fashion also taking down the enemy. Yasha flitted around the battle, her laughter could be heard on the wind.

Several of the small village's shinobi had also come to fight in an attempt to even the odds. It wasn't long before the rouges were all destroyed. Temari looked around the field while speaking.

"Where is Yasha?" Kankuro stopped what he was doing to look around the field, also searching for the girl.

"Don't know, she was here a little bit ago." The both began searching for the missing girl franticly. Gaara walked away to the forest edge. As he passed a few of the villagers he heard them muttering.

"That demon girl, if she had done her job right them Kuro, Yatsu, and Kiro wouldn't have died." Gaara ignored them and continued walking.

A little way away from the battle he found another dozen rouges all dead and torn apart. Gaara guessed they had attempted to break into the village while everyone was busy defending it elsewhere. There in the center of the clearing he saw Yasha.

Her tunic was torn and a few cuts and scrapes littered her body, a pale contrast to her normal look. Just then she looked so weak it disturbed Gaara. She was crouched down over something white. On closer look he saw it was a small kitten, not yet weaned from its mother's milk.

Red blood was smeared on to its white coat, creating a visual contrast. It opened its eyes when Yasha lifted it into her hands, its eyes were a contrasting blue and green. Something clear rolled down Yasha's face and she spoke to the kitten.

"What a strange contrast this is." Gaara left, fading into the forest.

* * *

A few days after the final attack the sand siblings were heading home. Temari was talking with Marina before they left.

"In six months there will be the Chunin exams, will you be able to come see us?" the blond girl asked hopefully. Marina smiled down fondly at her.

"We will try to come and watch dear." Temari beamed, she had grown attached to Yasha's mother as well as the strange girl. She ran off to catch up with her brothers, waving back.

The whole village had turned out to see them off. All except Yasha were there; she had disappeared when her father had shown up. Though Gaara noted how the man held his wife in contempt, Yasha's father glared at his daughter as she disappeared with unveiled hatred.

Gaara took one last glance up at the clearing on the cliff and saw Yasha standing there. In her arms was the white kitten. She was staring at the villagers with a mix of love and sadness. But when she sensed Gaara's gaze, she turned and her eyes met his, the red contrasting with his own sea foam ones. Gaara turned around and kept walking with his brother and sister. The image of the girl and kitten stuck in his mind. The only thing he could think was what a contrast indeed.

* * *

In the time since visiting Yasha's village, Gaara's mood grew worse and worse until it returned to his normal blood thirsty and threatening self. Kankuro and Temari avoided him as much as possible so as to not set him off. The illusion of friendly siblings gone once again, though Temari once confided in Kankuro that it was nice while it lasted.

* * *

During the Chunin exams Temari hoped that Marina and Yasha would not show up, now that the blond knew about the plot to invade Konoha. To her relief she didn't see them anywhere. Neither had she heard from them since they left. She concentrated on the exams.

* * *

When she was escaping from Konoha with her brothers and Kankuro stayed back to stop Shino, Temari thought back to the time in Chi no Bara. She wished, surprising herself, that she could be a better big sister and protect her younger brothers.

* * *

When Temari and Kankuro saw Gaara fall they were horrified, leaping in front of their fallen brother to protect him when Sasuke appeared by Naruto's side. In the back of her mind, Temari wondered if Gaara had such a strong reaction to the blond boy because of the time the siblings spent with Yasha.

When Gaara called them off and asked to go home, Temari was happy, though a bit surprised. And as they were retreating, Gaara's apology shocked her and Kankuro more than anything.

Before Gaara passed out, the last thing he saw was a rose bush with daisies growing around it. The last image he had of Yasha floated into his mind, Naruto had reminded him of the girl, despite their contrasting appearances. Then he sank into unconsciousness.

While they were running Kankuro noted, "You know, we should visit Yasha and her mom again, the contracting feelings of being with them compared to the village would be a nice vacation." Temari smiled.

"Yeah, a nice contrast."

* * *

Contrast (vision), the difference in color and light between parts of an image

Contrast (linguistics), expressing distinctions between words

Contrast (literary), describing the difference(s) between two or more entities

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	2. Chapter 2

Gaara sighed as he ran his hand through his hair for what must have been the twentieth time that hour. The council was riding his back once again about how he was handling affairs. Saying he was too young to understand things. It pissed him off. He was young yes, but he did in fact understand and know what he was doing.

He sighed and looked at the pile of papers on his desk. He was about to start his paper work when he spotted something. It was a small cream colored envelope. On the front was writing the redhead recognized. The black ink contrasted against the envelope as the red head quickly picked it up and opened it.

_Dear Gaara, Kankuro and Temari,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. Yasha sends her regards as well as her congratulations to Gaara for becoming Kazekage. Indeed it is such a wonderful achievement. But don't over work yourself dear. The same goes to Kankuro and Temari. I'm glad to hear you are all doing so well. I'm sure your village is proud to have you. Here the village is as it usually is. But slowly Yasha and I have noticed a slight change. Something in my husband is off. It is becoming a concern, though I hope it is nothing. One day I may have to take Yasha and flee from this village. Keep me posted on how you three are doing and remember, if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask._

_ Love always,_

_ Marina and Yasha_

Gaara frowned at the news. It had been three years since he and his siblings visited Chi no Bara. They had visited shortly after the failed Konoha mission. While there, the sibling had sense a slight change in the village. And it was not a good change. Since then, the sand sibling had been keeping in contact with Marina and Yasha through letters. Things in Chi no Bara continued to get worse as time went on, causing Gaara to fear for the two females. If Marina felt it was time to leave, then things had to be bad.

Gaara stood up from his desk and walked out to the hallway. He looked around before spotting a secretary.

"Call my brother and sister here, immediately." The secretary nodded and hurried to fill the order. Gaara went back to his office and sat down back at his desk, waiting.

Minutes later, Temari and Kankuro entered, curious about what their younger brother wanted. Gaara wasted no time in handing them the letter. As they read it, their faces changed first from a smile to a frown to worry.

"Gaara, this isn't good." Kankuro said, worriedly.

"We have to do something." Temari added. Gaara nodded. He had already planned something.

"I'm sending a request for them to come here as soon as possible." While they had been reading, Gaara had been writing a letter.

Walking to a window, Gaara called down a messenger hawk. It flew down and landing on the window sill while Gaara attached a message to its leg. It was midmorning now, so Yasha and her mother should receive it by this afternoon. They just prayed that Marina and her daughter would receive it and come.

* * *

For the rest of the day Gaara worked in his office, getting as much paper work done as possible. All the while he was waiting for a reply to his message. He would not rest easy until they were safe. Like wise, Kankuro and Temari stayed close by, just in case the reply came. They were worried.

Marina had once been a kunoichi but had the pregnancy with Yasha had left her unable to continue pursuing her career. It had put a huge strain on the woman's body to carry a demon vessel within her. Only the fact that it was a weaker demon than that of one of the tailed beasts had kept her from dying.

Yasha herself was strong and was even trained by her mother. But she would never raise a hand against her villagers and harm them on purpose. As much as the demon girl loved fighting and killing, she would never harm the ones she was supposed to protect.

Marina and Yasha had been the first people to ever accept Gaara as a person and not be afraid. The redhead remembered when Yasha had introduced him to Marina.

"_Mama, this is my friend Gaara. He's like me." The woman had turned around and looked at Gaara with a sincere smile._

_ "It's nice to meet you Gaara. Are you two hungry?"_

After that, Kankuro and Temari had met Marina. The woman had become like a surrogate mother to them. And it felt nice to have somebody who was genuinely kind to them without a hidden motive, as often happened to the children of the Kazekage.

Yasha had been the redhead's first friend. Despite how she had grown up in such a hostile environment with a demon inside of her, she was a caring girl, though shy and quirky at times. But it was her oddness that made her unique. And despite the way the villagers treated her, her loyalty to them was remarkable. Gaara remembered seeing her after the battle with the rouges. She had been crying over the lives of the three shinobi she had been unable to save.

* * *

It was late evening when Gaara received the message. It had been sent back on a different hawk, meaning it was important for the message to get back to Gaara quickly. Temari and Kankuro looked over his shoulder as he tore open the envelope. A faint smell of roses wafted toward them as they scanned the short message.

_Coming quickly. Mama's hurt and need's medical treatment._

Yasha had written it. Marina was hurt, and they were on their way. Knowing Yasha's speed and protectiveness over her mother, they would be here in a few short hours. Gaara immediately began issuing commands.

* * *

The moon was in the sky when Gaara spotted something in the distance. The redhead was standing at the gate entrance with his siblings and a few medical personnel. Quickly he was able to make out Yasha's form.

The girl was carrying her mother on her back and covering ground swiftly. Marina did not appear to be moving. Alarm coursed through the sand siblings though it abided when Yasha came to a halt before them. Marina's eyes opened briefly before closing again.

The medical people hurried forward and Yasha allowed them to take her mother. Gaara had Temari and Kankuro go with them. Then Gaara turned his full attention to Yasha.

The girl was panting heavily. Even for a demon vessel, running so far with someone on their back was no easy feat. Luckily it was night time and the air was not blistering.

In the three years since he had last seen her, Yasha had changed. Her hair was now longer and slightly windblown. The black locks contrasted with her pale skin and fell to past her hips. She wore a black top with off the shoulder sleeves. Her bottom was covered by a dark crimson cloth that wrapped around a few times, the ends hanging down. It ended just below mid-thigh but Gaara could see the edged of black shorts peeking out from underneath it.

As usual the girl had no shoes on. Around her waist was a small ninja pouch, black in color. In her arms a white object contrasted with her dark clothing. The object shifted and two eyes, on blue and one green, looked at Gaara. He twitched.

"You still have that thing?" He asked, looking at it. Last time he was around it, that cat had followed him every where. He looked up, his sea foam eyes meeting red ones. There was a deep tiredness in Yasha's face as he scanned it. It looked worn out and stressed. But her smile contrasted against it. Full and bright, it was filled with relief and joy.

"Of course. I couldn't leave him there." There was fresh pain as she though about what had happened. Gaara stepped forward and brought the girl into a close hug and she clung to him. The cat leapt to the ground and twined around their feet. Yasha was the only one Gaara had ever hugged before and was the only one he would still hug.

The feeling of her in his arms was familiar as she clung to him like she had when they were younger. He tried to sooth her.

"Everything will be alright now."

* * *

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